Technical Abstract:
Biosurfactant glycolipids are compounds with a sugar residue linked to a lipid hydrophobic moiety by a glycosidic bond; their structures vary in size, complexity, and function and they are part of the larger family of glycoconjugates. Microorganisms such as yeasts and bacteria can secrete large amounts of simple extracellular glycolipids containing a mono- or disaccharide glycosylated to a hydroxy fatty acid. The amphiphilic structure of these products imparts to them surfactant-like properties, which make them attractive bioemulsifiers for which there is growing commercial interest. Therefore, analytical methods that can provide structure elucidation of these materials are of significant relevance for their study. There are a number of analytical techniques that have been used for the identification of these products and the use of high pressure liquid chromatography associated with mass spectrometry (LC/MS) has provided a new approach for product identification. In this chapter the use of LC/MS for the analysis of biosurfactant glycolipids is reviewed. The discussion focuses on the analysis of simple biosurfactant glycolipids using modern LC/MS techniques. Since these methods were developed for the characterization of sophorolipids and rhamnolipids, other glycolipids are not discussed, but these analytical approaches have potential for analyzing other classes of natural glycolipids.